“For after that in the wisdom of God the world by wisdom knew not God, it pleased God by the foolishness of preaching to save them that believe.”
‭‭1 Corinthians‬ ‭1:21‬ ‭KJV‬‬

Bishop J. C. Ryle said about preaching in reference to this statement of Christ, “We ought to observe here, what infinite honor the Lord Jesus puts on the office of the preachers. It is an office which the eternal Son of God Himself undertook… The mere fact that the eternal Son of God undertook the office of a preacher, should satisfy us that preaching is one of the most valuable means of grace. To speak of preaching, as some do, as a thing of less importance than reading public prayers or administering the sacraments, is, to say the least, to exhibit ignorance of Scripture… Let us beware of despising preaching. In every age of the Church, it has been God’s principle instrument for awakening of sinners and the edifying of saints. The days when there has been little or no preaching have been days when there has been little or no good done in the Church. Let us hear sermons in a prayerful and reverent frame of mind, and remember that they are the principal engines which Christ Himself employed, when He was upon earth… By preaching, the Church of Christ was first gathered together and founded, and by preaching, it has even been maintained in health and prosperity. By preaching sinners are awakened. By preaching, inquirers are led on. By preaching, saints are built up. By preaching, Christianity is being carried to the heathen world… Let us pray daily for a continual supply of faithful preachers of God’s word. According to the state of the pulpit will also be the state of a congregation and of a Church. ”

What an important thing to stay true and committed and faithful to Gods plan for reaching the world through the local church!

“Yet if they shall bethink themselves in the land whither they were carried captives, and repent, and make supplication unto thee in the land of them that carried them captives, saying, We have sinned, and have done perversely, we have committed wickedness;”

There is no doubt that a revival is needed in our nation. When you see the depravity that is accepted by Christians and unsaved alike, you can see that America is in desperate need for revival. When electronic and emotional affairs are acceptable, we need revival. When sin is covered in our churches, we need revival. When national perception is more important than getting doctrinal error corrected, we need revival. When personality or institutions are more revered than the inspiration and preservation of the King James Bible, we need revival. When preachers silently sit as sin is championed from the pulpit, we need revival. When Christians attack the bearer of truth and don’t condemn sin, we need revival. When personalities replace Christ in our service, we need revival. I could go on and on, but the fact is, we need revival.

When Solomon dedicated the temple to God, he gave a recipe for revival in his prayer. Solomon acknowledged that one day Israel would sin against God. He understood that God would judge the nation if they sinned. However, he showed what Israel needed to do if they wanted God to send revival. The steps that Israel needed to take to see revival are the same steps we must take if we want revival.

First, there must be an acknowledgment of sin. In verse 46 it says, “If they sin against thee,…” You will never have revival until you first acknowledge you have sinned. It is not an acknowledgment that you were deceived, but that you sinned. You must acknowledge that you chose to do wrong. You had a choice not to sin, but you did. Nobody made you do wrong but you. Health struggles didn’t make you do wrong, you chose to do wrong. Until you acknowledge your choice to do wrong, you cannot have revival.

Second, repentance is needed for revival. Repentance is more than an attitude, it’s an action. It is an action of turning from your wrong to do right. This is why you must acknowledge you sinned, for you cannot repent until you acknowledge sin. Revival will never happen until you turn from your sinful actions to doing right.

Third, supplication is needed for revival. Supplication is a humbling of one’s self to ask another to intervene. Christian, you will never have revival as long as you think you can handle your situation yourself. No, you must realize you are helpless and need God’s help. You must humble yourself, swallow your pride and beg for God to help you overcome your sin.

Fourth, confession must be made if you want revival. You will notice in the verse above that they admitted to God that they had sinned. There will never be revival until you admit all that you have done to God. Trying to cover up your sin will not bring revival. Sin must be admitted in its entirety if you want God to send revival. As long as you continue to cover sin up, revival will not come.

Finally, verse 48 says returning to God with all your heart and soul is needed if you want revival. Half-hearted service to God will not result in revival. Until you put your whole heart and effort into serving God, you will not see revival. Revival is certainly needed, but you must put your heart into it if you want to see God revive you, your church and nation.

We live in a day when revival is needed. Our nation is quickly drifting further from God. Let me ask you, will you do what it takes to see revival? Revival will start with one person. Decide to be that one person.

Words cannot describe all the feelings, emotions, and prayer that go into a major decision like this one was—however, the Lord has certainly taught many valuable lessons during this incredible ride of faith!

Allow God to lead: while this seems to be simplistic, it is vital! Believe me, it is not easy to leave the church we started from scratch, disappoint and hurt some people that we greatly loved, sell our home, and move to another state (and all of this transpiring in the matter of just a few months). But the fact that the Lord (through many clear avenues) was leading in this change makes it all worth while! One of my trusted counselors said this to me during this whole transition: “you will find out who your real friends are”…the lesson to learn: some people will not understand and may even get mad, but if the Lord is leading, as a Christian, we have a duty to follow Him and not worry about what the “brethren might think”!

Serve God wherever you are: The Lord has truly been good to us at V.B.C. this past year! We have seen souls saved, the baptistery waters stirred, families join, and forward progress starting to take place! It is truly exciting to see God at work! However, we were seeing those same things happen in Maine…the lesson God thought me is this. It doesn’t matter the geographical location of service—where God has planted you…flourish and bear fruit! Far too often we let man made geographical demographics happen or all together stop our service for the King! Wherever you are, be there! Do not get in the trap of always looking for “greener pasture”. There can be no better place to serve God, than the place He has called you to serve!

Love people: for those fellow church planters out there, you know the amount of love and fellowship that is built in a new work…one that takes years to build! Our love for the folks in Maine was (and still is) very passionate and strong—but it has amazed me how the Lord is able to open ones heart and enlarge it as he puts you in different places with different people. Ministry is people…so keep loving people all the time everywhere you go, and never stop investing in people even though you might get hurt from time to time. Jesus died for them, the least we can do is love them!

Stay focused on your mission: During times of transition, it is easy to get sidetracked and off coarse. While we all as Christians have some of the same duties (witnessing, tithing, loving, serving, etc…) there are some ‘individual’ plans the Lord gives us personally! In all these areas, stay focused! It is also important to allow God to “refine” these areas from time to time to keep your life living in His simple plan. I have learned that God’s plan is very rarely confusing and complicated, it is when “we” get involved that things get complicated! Stay focused!

The Lord is good all the time, and I just want to go on record saying that I am so thankful for His love, guidance, and wisdom that He so liberally gives! Also, I could not have done this with out a wife that is willing to do all the afore mentioned things (Plus 100’s of others) and willingly go where the Lord leads! I praise the Lord for the good wife that He has provided for me and the great worker she is in the ministry!

What a joy to serve the Lord—let’s stay at it with passion and fervency until He calls us home!

Here at VBC, we are preparing for a special time of meetings! Certainly we are asking God to reach down and touch us individually, corporately as a church, and impact our kids in the Academy! In the times in which we live, we need the Lord to REVIVE His work—we are launching out in faith believing He will work.

I like the way that Finney defined revival: “A Return to the first love resulting in conversion of sinners”

Psalm 85:6 “Wilt thou not revive us again: that thy people may rejoice in thee?”

So, What Kind of a Revival do we Need Today?

1) A Revival That Resurrects the Church
** Revival means a return of life **

A revival that awakens the saints
A revival that gets the saints on the move
A revival that brings new vision
A revival that makes the world take notice

2) A Revival that Rekindles Old Fires

Revive us again … must have been revived before
The Christian life is made up of many beginnings
Do you remember better days?
Days of dedication
Days of great expectations
Days of full commitment
Paul’s word to the Galatians: “Ye did run well” (Gal. 5:7)
Return to your “Bethel” … your greatest hour

3) A Revival that Rebuilds Broken Fellowship

4) A Revival that Restores Christian Joy

I am praying the Lord would send “this kind” of a revival to the people of VBC this week and start a spark that will fan into a great flame of seeing God move in great power!